Lászlό Erős papers
Extent and Medium
folders
5
Creator(s)
- László Erős
Biographical History
László Erős was born in 1913 in Kolozsvár, Hungary (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania). In December 1942, he was conscripted into forced labor battalion 110/13 and survived several labor details before escaping in March 1945. While stationed in Gyergyószentmiklós (now Gheorgheni, Romania) in early 1944, he met Blanka Herskó (1927-?) from Gyergyószentmiklós. Blanka was deported in May 1944 to the Szászrėgen ghetto, Auschwitz, Plaszów, Auschwitz again, Wiesau, and Langenbielau. She and László were married after the war. Her parents are presumed to have been murdered at Auschwitz, and his father is also presumed to have been murdered in a concentration camp.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
Funding Note: The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
László Erős donated his papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1994 and 1995. The accessions formerly cataloged as 1995.A.525 has been incorporated into this collection.
Scope and Content
The Lászlό Erős papers include an English translation of his joint memoir with his wife, I Will Never Let Go of Your Hand! The memoir covers the period from 1940-1946 and consists of three parts: Blanka’s experiences with deportation and concentration camps, a diary account of Lászlό’s escape from his labor battalion and his eventual reunion with Blanka, and an account of how the survivors from Gyergyόszentmiklόs were memorialized at the local synagogue. The manuscript is accompanied by the original photographs published in the Hungarian version of the memoir and a list of 986 Jews transported from Gyergyószentmiklós to the ghetto of Szászrégen (Reghin, Romania) and Auschwitz. The collection also includes Hungarian and Romanian clippings from the early 1990s expressing antiSemitism while reflecting on the Holocaust era and Erős’ published responses as well as a photocopied list of members of labor battalion 108/24.
System of Arrangement
The László Erős papers are arranged as a single series.
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: László Erős
Corporate Bodies
Subjects
- Forced labor--Hungary.
- Jewish ghettos--Romania--Reghin.
- Jews--Romania--Cluj-Napoca.
- Jews--Romania--Gheorgheni (Harghita)
- Cluj-Napoca (Romania)
- Gheorgheni (Harghita, Romania)
Genre
- Photographs.
- Document